Eat Dark Chocolates to Reduce Weight and Blood Sugar Levels

Eat Dark Chocolates to Reduce Weight and Blood Sugar Levels

Published on : Apr 03, 2014

In a recent study aimed at evaluating the medicinal properties of cocoa, researchers were successful in discovering a type of antioxidant that can fight weight-gain and that can keep blood sugar levels in control. The tests were conducted on laboratory mice where it was found that a particular set of flavanoids, called as the oligomeric procyanidins (PCs), prevented the mice that were fed this substance from gaining weight and an improved tolerance to glucose (leading to reduced blood sugar levels).

The researchers explain that the main ingredient of chocolate, cocoa, is one of the best flavanol rich substances found in foodstuffs.

Cocoa contains a number of varieties of flavanols. For the research, the various flavanols were teased apart and studied separately. The mice were subjected to various kinds of diets including low-fats and high-fats, supplemented with various kinds of flavanols.

The results demonstrated the effectiveness of oligomeric procyanidins in reducing weight and an increased glucose tolerance despite having fed a high-fat diet to the laboratory mice. It is known that increase in glucose tolerance can directly help in preventing type-2 diabetes.

This discovery that even a chocolate like confectionary can help in reducing weight and reducing blood sugar comes as a relief to all those people who skip chocolates to either control their weights or to maintain a low blood sugar.

But this is not true for every variant of chocolates in the market. This is particularly true about dark chocolates that are made by making the least use of artificial fats, sugar and other additives.

So, all the fat and sugar conscious people out there, there’s no worry if you develop an urge for having a bite of chocolate. Go ahead and eat one, just remember to choose the darker variant.